Connacht contingent impress for Ireland

9 months ago

DHeffernan

With three wins from three, Ireland enjoyed a very successful Summer Tour with six Connacht players featuring in the victory over USA and the double success in Japan.

Dave Heffernan and John Cooney, who has now moved on to Ulster, both made their international debuts while Kieran Marmion made a huge impression thanks to two tries in two starts and some excellent performances.

Also impressing were Quinn Roux, who made two starts; Tiernan O’Halloran, who featured in all three games, and Finlay Bealham, who earned his seventh international cap.

Speaking following the 35-13 victory over Japan on Saturday, Head Coach Joe Schmidt had some special praise reserved for Marmion as the scrum-half impressed over the three weeks.

“He really stepped up and led,” said Schmidt. “Particularly defensively, he covered enormous amounts of ground.”

View the full interview below and check out the highlights of the second Japan Test at the bottom of the page.